Netflix Reveals Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘ANIMA’ First Look

Netflix has released a sneak peek of the secretive project ‘ANIMA’ from director Paul Thomas Anderson. Billed as a musical short film project, the movie comes to Netflix along with select IMAX screens in June. Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke plays the lead role in the project which will feature three exclusive tracks from his upcoming solo album of the same name.

The first look teaser opens up with a title card definition for “one-reeler” as “a motion picture, especially a cartoon or comedy, of 10-12 minutes duration and contained on one reel of film; popular especially in the era of silent films,” in a typical dictionary format. The teaser hints at a visually stunning and perplexing treat for PTA admirers.

‘ANIMA’ is Anderson’s the first directorial outing since the critically acclaimed ‘Phantom Thread.’ The Daniel Day-Lewis-starrer met with rave reviews along with Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, among others. The maverick director is yet to announce his next feature film project.

Yorke and Anderson are regular collaborators with several Radiohead music videos to their credit. Their 2016 project titled ‘Daydreaming’ went on to become a viral phenomenon. Radiohead band member Johnny Greenwood is also a regular in Anderson’s projects. The director has used Greenwood’s original scores for his major films like ‘There Will Be Blood,’ ‘The Master,’ ‘Inherent Vice,’ and ‘Phantom Thread.’

After working as a film and orchestral composer with several memorable tracks, Greenwood earned his first Oscar nomination for his work in ‘Phantom Thread.’ He was named as one of the finalists alongside Hans Zimmer for ‘Dunkirk’ and John Williams for ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ and Alexandre Desplat for ‘The Shape of Water.’

Anderson teams up with cinematographer Darius Khondji for the first time for ‘ANIMA.’ The new collaboration is crucial considering Anderson’s longtime partnership with renowned cinematographer Robert Elswit, who shot six Anderson’s films previously. During a conversation in ‘Light the Fuse’ podcast, Elswit divulged that their relationship was an “unpleasant one.” “God, I don’t know what it is anymore,” he said. “It’s like a bad married couple. Unpleasant.” Darius Khondji is known for the mind-blowing imagery of ‘Too Old to Die Young, ‘The Lost City of Z’ and ‘The Immigrant.’

Netflix premieres ‘ANIMA’ on June 27, 2019. The movie will also hit select IMAX screens on June 26, 2019. Check out the teaser announcement for ‘ANIMA’ below.